News from the Air Force

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Missouri's Air National Guard Steps Up

​The 131st Maintenance Group recently became the first all-Air National Guard B-2 maintenance team to support the stealth aircraft's operations outside of Whiteman AFB, Mo., announced base officials. In June, Air Guardsmen from the 131st flew to Nellis AFB, Nev., to maintain and "support B-2 operations as part of the final integration phase" of the US Air Force Weapons School program, according to a July 20 release. "In the past, it has always been about the Total Force concept and working with Team Whiteman whenever we deploy," Mary-Dale Amison, a 131st spokeswoman told Air Force Magazine. "But this proves yet again that the 131st Bomb Wing is always ready to support B-2 operations wherever we are sent." Typically, "about 20 percent of the [B-2 maintainer] lines are filled with Guardsmen," said Capt. Chad Larson, commander of the 131st Maintenance Squadron. "It was a first but there was never any doubt that we could."

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Future Launches to Include GPS Satellite Tracking

Air Force Space Command is planning to start using GPS satellite tracking, as opposed to radar tracking, to determine the positions of satellites in orbit, officials told reporters during a teleconference Friday. The July 31 launch of the seventh GPS IIF satellite will be the last one that uses the C-Band radar tracking, said Walter Lauderdale, Air Force Space Command GPS IIF-7 mission director. "The Delta IV launch vehicles have been, for several missions, since last year, flying with GPS metric tracking, and starting with the Worldview on the West Coast in the first part of August, Atlas V will also be solely on GPS metric tracking," he said. AFSPC began pushing for the change in 2008, and United Launch Alliance and the Air Force began transitioning to the GPS system earlier this year. The move is said to help cut costs and provide enhanced range safety information, officials said.

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Space Surveillance Satellites Launched into Orbit

The Air Force and its industry partners on Monday launched the first two Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program satellites into orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket fired from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. The mission successfully went off at 7:28 p.m. East Coast time on July 28 from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 37, according to a release from the 45th Space Wing at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. "What a thrill for Team Patrick-Cape to play a significant role in the launch of this vitally important mission, and we are so very proud to do so," said Brig. Gen. Nina Armagno, 45th SW commander and launch decision authority for the mission. Unfavorable weather and other factors had delayed the launch for almost a week. GSSAP satellites will operate in near-geosynchronous orbit as dedicated space-surveillance sensors to monitor man-made orbiting objects. Airmen with the 1st Space Operations Squadron at Schriever AFB, Colo., will oversee the two satellites' day-to-day operations. The Delta IV also carried an Air Force Research Lab experimental satellite known as ANGELS aloft. It will test techniques and technologies for space situational awareness.

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Defining Sixth-Generation Fighters

The Air Force is working on a capability to succeed the F-22, but it is still defining what it might be. Speaking during an AFA-sponsored, Air Force breakfast event in Arlington, Va., ACC chief Gen. Mike Hostage said he "told the people working on it, 'don't think in terms of a platform.'" In other words, the next fighter might not be an airplane, but a set of technologies that could be stand-alone or mounted on existing aircraft. Hostage said "it's okay with me" if the next air superiority system is not a manned fighter. "It will happen someday" that a ground-based operator will have all the situation awareness needed to fly a fighter remotely, he said. Directed-energy weapons are among the attributes a sixth-gen system is likely to have, particularly because they offer a nearly unlimited magazine of shots, he noted. Hostage said his only frustration with the F-22—besides the small size of the fleet—is that while it can penetrate deeply into denied airspace, "it can only kill eight bad guys" when it gets there. Hostage hinted at "amazing" technologies that might be back-fitted on legacy, fourth-gen aircraft that could make them relevant for decades, but he declined to name them. He wants to make it costly for an enemy to defend against offensive capabilities "that are cheap to us."

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Defining Sixth-Generation Fighters

The Air Force is working on a capability to succeed the F-22, but it is still defining what it might be. Speaking during an AFA-sponsored, Air Force breakfast event in Arlington, Va., ACC chief Gen. Mike Hostage said he "told the people working on it, 'don't think in terms of a platform.'" In other words, the next fighter might not be an airplane, but a set of technologies that could be stand-alone or mounted on existing aircraft. Hostage said "it's okay with me" if the next air superiority system is not a manned fighter. "It will happen someday" that a ground-based operator will have all the situation awareness needed to fly a fighter remotely, he said. Directed-energy weapons are among the attributes a sixth-gen system is likely to have, particularly because they offer a nearly unlimited magazine of shots, he noted. Hostage said his only frustration with the F-22—besides the small size of the fleet—is that while it can penetrate deeply into denied airspace, "it can only kill eight bad guys" when it gets there. Hostage hinted at "amazing" technologies that might be back-fitted on legacy, fourth-gen aircraft that could make them relevant for decades, but he declined to name them. He wants to make it costly for an enemy to defend against offensive capabilities "that are cheap to us."

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Whiteman B-2s Hit Peacetime Flight Record

The B-2s at Whiteman AFB, Mo., are logging more hours than ever as they train for their wide range of conventional and strategic missions, officials said. B-2 pilots flew 142 sorties totaling 839.3 hours in April 2014, a peacetime record for 20 operational B-2s. The previous record was 665.4 hours, set in March 2011. "You can message pretty strongly with this platform," said 509th Bomb Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Glen VanHerck in a July 23 interview. VanHerck was referring to a June deployment of two B-2s to RAF Fairford, England. A move made in part to reassure European allies weary of further Russian aggression. The Air Force also is slated to deploy B-2s soon to Alaska, where they will exercise with F-22 Raptors, which VanHerck called "an education for both." B-2s have been at Whiteman for 21 years and the newest B-2 is 15 years old. As the fleet ages, the 509th BW must predict which parts will fail, and find replacements. Cannibalization of parts from B-2s in depot is common practice. Sixteen B-2s are combat-coded at Whiteman, three rotate through the Northrop Grumman depot line in Palmdale, Calif., and one B-2 is instrumented for test work. "My biggest concern is to maintain aircraft availability," said VanHerck.

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How Bad Did It Get?

​At the height of sequestration in 2013, Air Combat Command had "eight combat-ready airplanes" in the continental US "that weren't already on rotation or preparing to go," said ACC chief Gen. Mike Hostage. Speaking at an AFA-sponsored, Air Force event in Arlington, Va., Hostage said groundings and flying-hours cuts left him "no reservoir force if a contingency popped up in Syria, Iran, North Korea ... That's how bad it got." He said he was on Capitol Hill that whole summer "trying to explain: This is the reality of what sequestration is doing to us. We have to stop this." Hostage said, "We have clawed our way back out of that hole," thanks to the respite of the Murray-Ryan bipartisan budget agreement. "It was a long struggle" to get back to fighting trim, but "I don't see anything happening that's going to end sequestration" after the deal expires in Fiscal '16, because the nation has not yet addressed its fiscal problems, Hostage asserted. "I'm telling my force we may have to be ready to deal with a sequester budget for the duration of the law," he said. The Budget Control Act, which created sequestration, runs until 2023.

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F-16 Deliveries to Iraq Could Be Delayed

​Iraq is still a "contested environment" between Iraqi government forces and militants belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), said Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby on Friday. Despite some violent attacks, Baghdad is largely "static," while Iraqi forces and ISIL militants continue fighting in other areas, such as Tikrit, he added. As of Friday, there were around 700 US troops working in some capacity in the country, either protecting US interests at diplomatic facilities or manning operations centers where intelligence is being processed and disseminated. Kirby said ISR flights have picked up since June, some of which are being flown by Air Force fighters equipped with targeting pods. Pentagon spokeswoman Navy Cdr. Elissa Smith also told Air Force Magazine that the slow down of the F-16 training program has "delayed delivery of the first F-16s to Iraq," originally slated for this fall. Contract personnel were evacuated from Balad Air Base in June, which has complicated planning for bed down activities, she added. "It's too soon to say what impact the security situation will have on the timeline we had announced earlier," Smith said.

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First Female Bomb Wing Commander

Col. Kristin Goodwin took command of the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, La., on Aug. 1 becoming the first woman to command an Air Force bomber wing, according to an Air Force Global Strike Command release. Goodwin is a command pilot with 2,725 hours in C-130 Compass Call, B-2 Spirit, and other aircraft. Goodwin, who previously served as vice commander of the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, Mo., is now responsible for providing B-52H Stratofortress aircraft, aircrew, and associated support personnel and resources to conduct global bomber operational tasking. Officiating at the Aug. 1 command change, Maj. Gen. Scott Vander Hamm, 8th Air Force commander, said: "Make no mistake, Kristin knows airpower. She has advocated long-range combat airpower in many circles. There is no doubt the B-52 will see the results of those efforts in coming years." After assuming command, Goodwin told the assembled 2nd BW airmen: "I am honored to lead and be a part of this mission and to take command of one of the most historic bomb wings in the Air Force." The command change came on the 20th anniversary of the 47-hour globe circling flight by a 2nd BW B-52 that was the first ever to drop bombs during a circumnavigation mission.

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New Boss at 24th Air Force

Maj. Gen. Burke Wilson assumed command of 24th Air Force at JBSA-Lackland, Texas, during a change-of-command ceremony held last week. Wilson, who previously served as director of space operations in Washington, D.C., replaced Maj. Gen. James McLaughlin, who led the numbered air force since June 2013, according to a release. McLaughlin was promoted to lieutenant general on July 31 and has been tapped for reassignment as deputy commander of US Cyber Command at Fort Meade, Md. "I look forward to continuing the work Maj. Gen. McLaughlin started by focusing on mission, people, and partnerships," said Wilson during the ceremony. The 24th Air Force is the Air Force's cyber unit and its mission is to "operate, extend, and defend the Air Force Information Network, defend key mission systems, and provide full-spectrum cyberspace capabilities … in, through, and from cyberspace," states the release.

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Air Force Academy Launches Investigation into Institutional Culture

​Air Force Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson has asked the USAFA Inspector General to examine the culture within the Air Force Academy, according to a statement released this week. "These efforts will help in eliminating subcultures at the Air Force's Academy whose climates do not align with our institutional core values," said Johnson, who pledged continued transparency as the investigations get underway. The statement addressed reports of drug use and sexual abuse by members of the football team and other students between 2010 and 2012, following a recent report in the Colorado Springs Gazette that detailed parties at which "a core group of top football players smoked synthetic marijuana, drank themselves sick, and may have used date-rape drugs." The discovery led to "the disenrollment and prosecution of several intercollegiate, as well as other, cadets," said Johnson. In addition, Johnson said she and members of her senior staff have "visited the Athletic Department on several occasions to meet with the coaches and administrators to communicate my expectations and to highlight their important role in cadet development. The Athletic Department has responded. They've implemented several programs to ensure all cadet-athletes are living up to the Air Force's core values," according to the statement.

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B-2s Return to Guam

​Three B-2 bombers deployed from Whiteman AFB, Mo., to Andersen AFB, Guam, on Aug. 6. The Spirit bombers will fly sorties from the island as part of "familiarization training activities" in the Western Pacific, Pacific Air Forces officials announced in a statement. The deployment "demonstrates continuing US commitment to regular, global, strategic bomber operations throughout the Asia-Pacific region," PACAF declared. Some 220 airmen are deploying with the bombers from Whiteman, and will maintain and support bomber operations from Guam as part of US Pacific Command's extended deterrence operations and long-range strike capability. This short-term deployment is the first Air Force Global Strike Command B-2 deployment to Guam since January 2012, AFGSC spokesman Charles Ramey told Air Force Magazine. B-2s and B-52s also deployed to RAF Fairford, England, earlier this summer.

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Kadena Rescue Airman Awarded DFC

SSgt. Zach Hoeh, a pararescueman with the 31st Rescue Squadron at Kadena AB, Japan, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor for his "heroism" retrieving a wounded soldier from a mine-laden ambush site in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2011. On May 26, 2011, Hoeh was sent on a "harrowing rescue mission into the Shorbak District, Kandahar Province, where a squad of United States Army Pathfinders had been decimated by multiple improvised explosive device attacks," reads his DFC citation. At the time, Hoeh was serving with the 46th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, Det. 1. Guardian Angels in the lead HH-60 successfully rescued two patients before the aircraft lost power due to wind conditions, causing the helicopter to rapidly decend and "narrowly escape crashing to the desert floor." Hoeh "immediately volunteered" to recover the remaining casualty. Surrounded by mines and explosives, he hoisted himself down to the ambush site, secured the patient, and signaled for extraction in less than 15 seconds, according to the citation. Once onboard, Hoeh helped to evaluate and treat the solider as the flight returned to Kandahar Airfield. He was awarded the DFC on Aug. 1 at Kadena.

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Airstrikes Have Blunted Islamist Advance in Iraq

​Air Force and Navy fighters and remotely piloted aircraft have conducted 15 "targeted airstrikes" against Islamic terrorists threatening US facilities and personnel in Iraq as well as thousands of Yazidi refugees trapped on Sinjar Mountain, said a top US officer on Monday. F-15Es, F-16s, armed MQ-1 RPAs, and Navy F/A-18s have carried out precision strikes, Army Lt. Gen. William Mayville, the Joint Staff's director for operations, told reporters at an Aug. 11 Pentagon briefing. Although those strikes have "blunted the advance" of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant terrorists, "they are unlikely to affect ISIL's overall progress," said Mayville. "ISIL remains focused on gaining additional territory in Iraq," he said. US manned and unmanned aircraft also have flown more than 16 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions to track the ISIL forces and assess the threat to the refugees on Sinjar, he said. Air Force transports, aided over the weekend by British aircraft, have conducted 14 humanitarian sorties to airdrop urgently needed supplies to members of the Yazidi religious minority group who fled to the rugged Sinjar Mountain to escape a likely ISIL massacre. The combined effort delivered 16,000 gallons of water and 17,000 meals, said Mayville.

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First Air Force Recruits Earn F-35A Crew Chief Designation

​Nine airmen became the first Air Force recruits to graduate from initial skills technical training as F-35A crew chiefs, according to a release from Eglin AFB, Fla., home of the initial joint F-35 schoolhouse. "The opportunity to be the first of something so important means a lot. I know many people are looking at us to be the best. It's a big honor," said A1C Saovada Pum, one of the airmen who graduated on Aug. 7. To earn the crew chief designation, the airmen completed months of training at two bases and with three squadrons following their graduation from basic military training, states the Aug. 12 release. The process started with aircraft fundamentals with the 362nd Training Squadron at Sheppard AFB, Texas, then shifted to Eglin for F-35-specific training with the 359th TS, followed by mission-ready airmen training with Det. 19 of the 372th TS. The training was as advanced at the aircraft itself, utilizing hands-on work with F-35s and sophisticated simulators to learn how to use off-board computers and the airplane's diagnostic capabilities, states the release.

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Kunsan F-16s Deploy to Alaska for Red Flag

A dozen F-16s from the 8th Fighter Wing departed Kunsan AB, South Korea, for Alaska, to participate in Red Flag-Alaska 14-3, a joint air combat exercise that runs through Aug. 22. About 200 airmen deployed with the jets on Aug. 12, according to a base release. Staging from Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the Kunsan F-16s and the airplanes from the six other participating combat units will fly on the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, engaging in a range of expeditionary combat scenarios. Although postured for combat on the Korean Peninsula, RF-A gives Kunsan's airmen the opportunity to practice in a realistic threat environment, said Col. Ken Ekman, 8th FW commander. "It's some of the best ranges, best flying, and best training we get to do, so it's a great opportunity to go out there and practice," added Maj. Dean Laansma, assistant director of operations for Kunsan's 80th Fighter Squadron. Also participating, according to Eielson's website, are: C-130s from Yokota AB, Japan; F-16s from Misawa AB, Japan, and the Wisconsin Air National Guard; KC-135s from the Alaska Air Guard; Marine Corps F/A-18s from California; and Navy EA-18Gs from Washington.

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Ramstein C-130Js rotate to Poland

A pair of C-130Js flew into Powidz AB, Poland, on Thursday as the Air Force's next rotational deployment of assets under Operation Atlantic Resolve to demonstrate US commitment to the security of its NATO allies in light of Russia's belligerent actions in Ukraine. The airmen and C-130s from the 37th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein AB, Germany, will spend several weeks conducting exercises with units from Poland and the neighboring Baltic nations, according to an Aug. 14 release. As representatives of the US military, "we value the shared commitment and close cooperation with NATO partners on countering a range of regional and global threats," said Lt. Col. Barry King, 37th AS detachment commander. The US airmen will be able to improve their skills, flying low-level missions, landing at austere sites, and conducting airdrops of cargo and paratroopers. Opportunities to perform those kinds of missions are limited in Germany. "This training is absolutely invaluable toward maintaining joint readiness, building interoperability, and strengthening relationships with NATO partners," said King. "It is our goal to ensure both the United States and NATO know we can move forward quickly to support, and defend our allies," he said.

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Hyten Takes Charge of Space Command

​Gen. John Hyten became the 16th commander of Air Force Space Command, succeeding Gen. William Shelton in a ceremony at Peterson AFB, Colo. Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh presided over the Aug. 15 ceremony, according to a command release. Hyten, who had been AFSPC's vice commander since May 2012, received his fourth star prior to taking charge. He now oversees the Air Force's space and cyber forces, some 42,000 airmen and civilians worldwide. Hyten attended Harvard University on an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship. He graduated in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in engineering and applied sciences and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Shelton is retiring from the Air Force after more than three and a half years as AFSPC"s leader and a career of 38 years in uniform.

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Airstrikes Help Iraqis Retake Vital Dam

​US airstrikes helped Iraqi and Kurdish ground forces recapture the strategically critical Mosul Dam in northern Iraq from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants, President Obama told reporters on Monday during a press briefing. "Iraqi and Kurdish forces took the lead on the ground and performed with courage and determination," said Obama. "This operation demonstrates that Iraqi and Kurdish forces are capable of working together in taking the fight to ISIL. If they continue to do so, they will have the strong support of the United States," he said. On Aug. 18, US strike aircraft carried out 15 attacks near the dam, damaging or destroying ISIL fighting positions, vehicles, and anti-aircraft guns, announced US Central Command. Since Aug. 8, 35 of the 68 US airstrikes against ISIL supported Iraqi forces near the dam, states the release. In addition to fighter, attack, and remotely piloted aircraft, strikes on Aug. 17 included the use of bombers—the apparent first use of them against ISIL. Thus far, the Air Force has declined to identify what specific assets have participated, together with Navy carrier-based fighters, in these sorties, but B-1 bombers do regularly operate from al Udeid, AB Qatar

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US Airstrikes at Mosul Dam Within Assigned Missions, Pentagon Says

The Pentagon pushed back Tuesday on the idea of mission creep in Iraq, saying the US air strikes that helped Iraqi and Kurdish forces reclaim the Mosul Dam from Islamic extremists were entirely within the two missions President Obama gave the military. "The goals and objectives are limited … The goals and objectives have not changed," said Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby during an Aug. 19 Pentagon briefing with reporters. The missions are "providing humanitarian assistance and protecting US personnel and facilities ... and those strikes fit into both." Kirby said there were concerns that if the dam remained under the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's control, extremists might blow it up or open the flood gates, causing disastrous flooding as far south as Baghdad and endangering the US Embassy and hundreds of Americans. Kirby said there were no US ground personnel controlling the strikes, but he conceded there would have been US "coordination and planning" with the local forces before the air strikes, which he said were "critical to retaking that dam." He also praised the "courage and skills" of the Iraqi and Kurdish forces.